System for safe texting while driving

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are described to allow safe texting with speech-text conversion for vehicle drivers, with provisions to prevent a user from defeating or bypassing the speech-text conversion. Some embodiments include a special software application in a driver&#39;s phone while other embodiments require only software changes at a service provider. If the velocity of a phone exceeds a disable threshold, it is assumed that the user may be texting while driving. That the user is a driver is then determined by one or more of multiple methods including registration. Conventional texting is then disabled for their phone and a safe texting capability is enabled instead. Where persons in the same vehicle utilize different service providers, parameters such as for instance cell phone position, velocity, and direction of travel are time stamped and passed between service providers or alternately made available to other service providers via a central database.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND DOCUMENTS

This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. Utility patentapplication Ser. No. 13/111,806 filed on May 19, 2011 now abandonedentitled “System For Tracking Text Messaging While Driving”, which is aContinuation-In-Part of U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No.12/711,210 filed Feb. 23, 2010 now U.S Pat. No. 8,295,854 entitled“System for Preventing Text Messaging While Driving”, and also claimspriority of and incorporates herein by reference U.S. Utility patentapplication Ser. No. 12/592,899 filed Dec. 4, 2009 entitled “System forPreventing Text Messaging While Driving” and British Patent ApplicationSer. No. GB1020544.1 filed on Dec. 3, 2010 entitled “System forPreventing Text Messaging While Driving”, all of the above referencedapplications commonly assigned with the present application. BritishApplication No. GB1020544.1 has been made available to the USPTO viaWIPO PDAS as of Feb. 2, 2011.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of cellular phones and cellularcommunications technology including text messaging, emailing, and voicecommunications technology, GPS technology, related computer systems andsoftware, and vehicular transportation modalities.

BACKGROUND

It has become a widely known problem that text messaging while drivingis dangerous. Recent data shows that while text messaging, a person hasan impairment level twice that of a person who is legally drunk. In theUS in 2008, 6,000 deaths were attributed to distraction while drivingand many of these fatalities were related to text messaging. In manystates it is now against the law to text message while driving. Studiesshow a person is 23 times more likely to crash when texting behind thewheel. As a result of these alarming statistics, governments areconsidering steps toward wider bans on text messaging and emailing whiledriving.

While banning text messaging by law is an important step towardsmitigation of this problem, that alone may be insufficient. Many stateshave instituted hands-free laws for cell phone use, and a largepercentage of the populace simply ignores these laws. While holding acell phone to your ear reduces your ability to properly control yourcar, the degree of distraction afforded by text messaging or emailingwhile driving makes voice use of cell phones seem insignificant bycomparison. Additionally, texting has become highly addictive for manypeople—especially younger people. This has recently been furtherencouraged by social networking functionalities, such that many peoplewill compulsively persist in texting while driving regardless of thelaws unless a mechanism to defeat their dangerous habit is implemented.In considering the implementation of mechanisms to defeat textmessaging, a major challenge is that it is difficult to distinguishbetween a person driving a car or truck and a person riding in the caras a passenger or riding on public transportation. There are manypositive reasons to encourage people to ride on public transportation,and it is important that steps be taken not to discourage them to do so.It is also important for similar reasons to allow people riding aspassengers in a carpool situation to utilize text messaging and emailswhile in a moving vehicle. An effective mechanism for defeating textmessaging while driving must provide individuals who habitually takepublic transportation or carpool with the ability to text message andemail while traveling by these means. Also, to broadly enforce a ban ina shortened period of time, it is useful that any solution not requiremodifications to existing cell phones. The most effective short termsolution would use existing cell phones and existing cellularcommunications hardware and be implemented solely via software at themobile service provider. The next most effective solution would includehardware changes in the cellular infrastructure but still require nochanges to cell phones. Last, easily downloaded software changes to cellphones might be acceptable under certain conditions but are notdesirable.

Cell phones in use today already contain GPS location capability as partof the emergency response network. The ability to query the location ofcell phone from a central location using the GPS receiver in a cellphone is useful for many purposes, and for the purposes of thisinvention is useful to determine both the location and the velocity of aperson according to the position and speed of lateral movement of hiscell phone. Position location by triangulation from multiple cell towersmay be combined with GPS (AGPS or Assisted-GPS), when readings purelyfrom a phone's GPS receiver alone are not sufficient.

Prior art inventions address the issue of allowing passengers on publictransportation to text while moving by inferring that people are on suchpublic transport by their commonality of wireless signal attributes.These solutions would require hardware changes within the serviceprovider's infrastructure. These solutions also ignore the fact that thedriver of a public transportation vehicle must be prevented from textingon his phone. Serious train and bus accidents with many lives lost havebeen attributed to texting by the driver/operator. Prior art inventionsalso do not adequately address the scenario where passengers are ridingin a carpool situation as the driver would still be allowed to textunless modifications were made to both cars and cell phones. Proposedsolutions to allow passengers in a car to text while moving involve someform of proximity sensor to determine that a person is not sitting inthe drivers seat. Unfortunately, this requires that enhanced phones mustbe purchased for all such passengers and that cars be specially designedto have devices implanted at certain seat locations. Thus, this onlyworks for new cars and trucks and also requires users to purchase newcell phones.

To implement an enforced ban on texting in a very short amount of time,it is necessary to deploy a solution that can be generally effectivewithout requiring changes to currently deployed user phones, existingcellular hardware infrastructure, or existing vehicles. Before such amechanism is deployed to defeat unlawful texting while driving, it maybe desirable to track such illegal activity and report it to theperpetrators as warnings or in conjunction with traffic tickets. Assuch, a mechanism to discover and track texting while driving may be auseful interim solution. Also, it is desirable to also implement atracking and warning mechanism without requiring changes to currentlydeployed user phones, existing cellular hardware infrastructure, orexisting vehicles.

Some cell phone users may prefer to use a speech-to-text ortext-to-speech (hereinafter: speech-text) capability in localities(cities, states, provinces, countries) where texting is illegal whiledriving but voice is allowed—typically requiring a hands-freecapability. At the same time, if a speech-text capability is allowed, itis critical to determine that it has not been tampered with to eitherallow conventional manual entry of texts, or conventional viewing oftextual information a user has received. Given the extremely highaddiction of some people to texting, including the covert nature ofmanual text entry and visual text reception, it is likely that manyusers would seek to circumvent a speech-text capability, therebyallowing conventional texting on their phone.

SUMMARY

As described herein, the terms “texting” and “text messaging” and theverb “to text” shall also include sending and receiving emails and anyform of communication via a cellular communications network that is notpurely voice. Although the term “texting” often has a specificdefinition, for the purpose of general discussion relative to thedangers of “texting while driving” the media has chosen to frequentlyrefer only to “texting” and thus this specification hereby adopts thatterminology for those various forms of textual communication. Also, theterm “driver”, “operator”, and “engineer” are also used interchangeably.Cars, trucks, and busses are normally said to have “drivers”, however,trains are typically said to have “operators” or “engineers”, hence forthe purpose of the present invention, all of these terms are usedsynonymously. A driver of a public transportation vehicle may also bereferred to as a “professional operator” or “professional driver” and itmay be a requirement for some embodiments of the present invention thatcell phones belonging to such persons be specially recorded as such atthe cellular service provider and be treated differently from phonesused by the general public. For the purposes of the present invention, a“cell phone” may be any mobile communications device capable of any formof textual communications, including PDAs and even notebook computers. Acellular “Service Provider” may at times be referred to herein as “SP”.The user of a cell phone is typically referred to as “him” but actuallyrefers to “him or her”.

According to this invention the position of a person's cell phone isqueried from a central location via the cellular communications link ina manner similar to that performed by the emergency response network.The position and velocity of a person's cell phone are determined. Thelateral direction of travel of the person's cell phone may also bedetermined. These determinations may be performed by means of thecomparison of successive position queries or other means, includinginformation obtained directly from the phone if available. The fact thata person is in a moving vehicle is then determined by comparing thisdetermined velocity with a minimum velocity threshold—the “disablethreshold”—for determining disablement of texting. If sufficientposition and speed information is not available from a GPS receiver inthe phone at a certain point in time, the position and speed may besupplemented by triangulation of signals as referenced from multiplecellular towers, as in A-GPS or Assisted GPS, or purely bytriangulation. If a person's cell phone contains internal informationavailable to the service provider that includes any of velocity,location, or direction information, that information may also be queriedby the service provider according to this invention.

One object of this invention is to prevent a person from sending orreceiving text messages or emails on a cell phone while driving. To doso, the invention disables this capability for anyone riding in a movingvehicle unless he is a passenger on public transportation (bus/train),or unless the person is a passenger in a car/truck under certainconditions such as a carpool. To “disable texting”, the service providerat a minimum would disable the transfer of text messages and emails fromthe SP to the user's phone, and also will disable the receipt of textmessages and emails at the SP that are sent from the user's phone. Itmay be impossible to prevent the user from composing a text message oremail on his phone while driving without altering the programming in thephone, and thus is not a preferred capability of this invention.However, it is possible to delay the resumption of the ability to sendemails for a period of time after a person ceases to drive, such thatthere is little motivation to compose while driving. The user may aswell wait to compose until after he stops since there would be timeavailable then anyway. Fortunately, most text messages are relativelyshort, and it is text messages that have become the most addictive andare the bulk of the current hazard, especially those associated withcertain popular social networking sites.

Another object of this invention is to implement a system to disabletext messaging and emailing while driving without requiring any changesto the base of cellular phones currently installed, and preferablywithout requiring any changes to the existing cellular communicationssystem hardware infrastructure. In the most desirable outcome, onlysoftware changes on the part of the service provider and implementedonly within their infrastructure would be required to implement the keycapabilities described herein. The majority of currently deployed phonescontain GPS capability. For those phones not containing GPS receivers,the system according to this invention may rely solely on triangulationof signals from cellular towers. Alternately, this relatively smallsubset of phones may be excluded from texting and emailing capability.In most cases, these users would probably have replaced their phones inthe near future anyway due to a desire for enhanced features,incompatibility with newer provider infrastructure, of simply thephysical or electronic degradation of their current phone. Historically,infrastructure changes in cellular networks have, from time to time,forced users to replace their phones. Also, some older phones do nothave the ability to text, email, or connect to the Internet.

Another object of the invention is to allow a person to text when hisphone is within the “envelope” of a master phone. The envelope of a cellphone may include position information only and is therefore sometimesdescribed herein as a “position envelope”. The envelope of a cell phonemay also include the lateral speed of the phone and/or the direction oftravel of the phone. Which of these parameters is included isimplementation dependent, and all combinations thereof are encompassedby the present invention. The grater the number of parameters that areincluded, the more computations need to be performed within the SPinfrastructure and the more complicated and expensive the solution gets.An SP, potentially in concert with government authorities, may implementa simple form of the present invention and measure the results beforeimplementing a more complicated and expensive form.

It should be noted that the envelope of a cell phone per this inventionmay be viewed from two perspectives. A master phone may have an envelopeand other cell phones may be described as being in the envelope of themaster phone. Alternately, a group of cell phones traveling together(carpool or mass transit) may be said to have an envelope. Either way,the “envelope” is meant to encompass that of the vehicle in whichpersons traveling together are riding as referenced from the position ofa phone or phones. If a master phone is within the envelope of a groupof phones, then the group of phones is also within the envelope of themaster phone.

Beyond including position information, an envelope may also include cellphones maintaining the instantaneous speed of a master phone so that aperson in a car/truck is prevented from riding close to a bus in orderto be allowed to text. Maintaining the instantaneous speed includes thespeeds of passenger cell phones tracking small speed changes that aremade by the master phone. Deviations relative to how closely thesespeeds track each other may be compared with a “threshold of equality”to determine that a passenger cell phone user is actually riding in thesame vehicle with the user of a master phone. This speed comparison maybe used to determine which vehicle a passenger is actually in when hiscell phone appears to be within the position envelope of multiple masterphones.

The user of a master phone may utilize a different service provider thana passenger. Information parameter measurements such as cell phoneposition, velocity, and direction of travel may be time-stamped and thenpassed between service providers or alternately made available to otherservice providers by way of a central database. These time-stamps areuseful in synchronizing information parameter measurements in order tomake comparisons more meaningful.

The direction of travel may also be included as a requirement for beingin the “envelope”, however in actual implementation, it may not benecessary to utilize the direction of travel of a cell phone. If theposition and velocity of a cell phone are to match that of a masterphone over a period of time long enough to send and receive textmessages, their direction of travel will in fact need to be the same.The master phone may belong to either a professional driver or to adriver of a carpool vehicle. The act of registration of a master phoneis preferably performed by a voice call (preferably initiated by asingle key on speed dial) or by a text message that can be sent with aminimum number of key presses (preferably one) to a special destinationreserved for this purpose that is enabled for texting even when a phoneis traveling faster than the disable threshold. It may also be useful ifa professional driver who has registered his phone as a master phone ispreviously known to be a professional driver of a mass transit vehicle,and what type of vehicle he drives. Then, the length of the master phoneposition envelope can be computed according to the length of thevehicle. Given the inaccuracy of GPS and other location mechanisms, itis useful to compare the instantaneous velocity of phones that appear tobe within the envelope of a master phone with that of the master phonein order to disable texting for cell phones in cars that are adjacent tothe mass transit vehicle.

Another object of this invention is to allow a person riding on publictransportation (bus/train) to be allowed to send and receive textmessages or emails, while not allowing the professional driver/operatorto send and receive text messages or emails while moving. This can bedone by disabling texting for all phones in the vehicle until the driverregisters his phone as a master phone. When the driver registers hisphone as a master phone, his ability to text is disabled while usersriding in the mass transit vehicle, whose phones are therefore in theenvelope of the master phone, are allowed to text. If the professionaldriver is previously known by the SP to be a professional driver of masstransportation, he can be prompted (preferably via voice message) toregister when in the presence of a group of cell phone users who aretraveling in a group and at the same speed. Such a group essentiallyestablishes their own envelope, the envelope being determined by the SPbased on the position and velocity of the phones in the group. The SPthen determines if the professional driver is within the envelope withthe group of cell phones. The professional driver can choose to declineto register if he is at that moment riding as a passenger and not as thedriver. Therefore, the registration of a cell phone belonging to a knownprofessional driver can be purely voluntary, voluntary after beingprompted, or fully automatic.

Similarly, a group of cell phone users participating in a carpoolvehicle at speed may form their own envelope. Subsequently, if there isno currently registered master phone within the group and a carpoolparticipant whose phone is within the envelope attempts to send orreceive test messages, that user may be prompted that one of the group(the legal driver) should register so that the others can successfullytext. Any participant in the carpool who finds his texting capabilitydisabled can simply ask the driver to register as a master phone inorder to allow the other carpool participants to text.

Similar methods are applicable to passenger and driver use of cellphones on trains. The process of establishing the position envelope fora train has unique challenges since a long train may form a curved orserpentine shape rather than the simple rectangle shape for a bus,truck, or car. On the other hand, the GPS coordinates for the railroadbed are known and may be useful in establishing a position envelope fora train.

There may exist different ways that individuals may try to bypass thesystem described herein and accordingly, mechanisms to discover theseattempts and thwart them are also discussed herein.

Given the accuracy of position determination of a phone and thereforethe accuracy for the envelope of a master phone or a group of passengerphones, the parameters for operating a system as described herein may betuned over time with experience in order to determine the optimumparameters. Examples of these parameters include:

-   -   the position envelope size and shape;    -   the threshold of equality for the speed of a cell phone to track        a master phone;    -   the time delay for allowing automatic re-enablement; and    -   the speed for the disable threshold.

Additionally, a functionality to track texting while driving isdescribed and provides a useful interim solution where driversexhibiting a high probability of texting while driving are warned ofthis condition. Such warnings may be delivered by various means such asfor instance text messages, automated phone calls, emails, or postalletters. Warnings via text message or phone call may be deferred untilsuch time that it has been determined via the methods contained hereinthat an the suspected individual is no longer in a moving vehicle. Theembodiment for tracking and warning serves both as a deterrent and alsoprepares cell phone users for a possible ban where texting is actuallydisabled according to other embodiments of the present invention. Aswith the apparatus and methods described herein for disabling texting,the embodiment for tracking and warning may be implemented withoutrequiring changes to currently deployed user phones, existing cellularhardware infrastructure, or existing vehicles.

Further, for municipalities where voice communication is allowed whiledriving, it may be desirable to allow text messages to be transferred toor from a user who may in fact be driving, when that user sends andreceives those messages audibly, using a hands-free mechanism.Essentially, as long as the driver is prevented from texting with theirhands and is also prevented from reading text messages visually whiledriving, the sending and receiving of “audible” text messages whiledriving can be made no more distracting than talking on the phone, andas such may be allowed. However, relying on the law to enforce thisparadigm is not enough due to the addictive nature of conventionaltexting.

It requires a capability to prevent conventional texting, combined withaudible texting, in order to create a truly safe solution.

For users who are allowed to use a speech-text capability while driving,to ensure that the user cannot circumvent the speech-text capability andutilize any aspect of conventional texting while driving, the inventiondescribed herein offers multiple solutions—one where only voicecommunication is allowed from a phone, and one where control forspeech-text conversion is performed on the phone, but with specialprovisions for validation to eliminate the possibility of tampering orhacking.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the envelope for a bus including passenger cell phones anda registered master phone owned by a professional driver.

FIG. 2 shows the envelope for a car including cell phones belonging tocarpool passengers and a registered master phone owned by the driver.

FIG. 3 shows the validation sequence whereby a service provider willprevent the driver of a vehicle from texting while allowing passengersto text.

FIG. 4 shows the process of registration of a master phone.

FIG. 5 shows the process whereby the SP system determines that anun-registered professional operator is traveling within the movingenvelope of a group of phones, and the professional operator is promptedto register as a master phone user.

FIG. 6 shows a train on a railroad bed where passengers are allowed totext on their cell phones and the operator of the train is not.

FIG. 7 shows multiple cell phones traveling within the same vehiclewhere each cell phone is serviced by a different service provider.

FIG. 8 shows an information flow graph for passing parameter data andtime markers between service providers to enable the required analysisaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows a method for operation of the FIG. 8 embodiment todetermine texting enablement when multiple service providers areinvolved.

FIG. 10 shows multiple cell phones traveling within the same vehiclewhere an envelope is established in order to track and warn drivers ofprobable texting while driving.

FIG. 11 shows a table describing some possible and exemplary statusconditions for multiple cell phones traveling within the same vehicle,and conditions under which some cell phone users would be warned forprobable texting while driving.

FIG. 12 shows a block diagram including functions at a cellular serviceprovider for implementing a speech-text capability without anymodifications or additions required of a user's cell phone.

FIG. 13 shows a flow chart for operation of the system of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 shows a flow chart for operation of the system of FIG. 12,specifically for a phone user sending a text message solely by voicephone call communication with a service provider.

FIG. 15 shows a block diagram including functions within a user's phonefor implementing a speech-text capability, including validation ofsoftware.

FIG. 16 shows a flow chart for operation of the system of FIG. 15 wherespeech-text conversion is performed on a user's phone, includingfunctions within a user's phone for validation of software on the phonefor control and speech-text conversion.

FIG. 17 shows a block diagram including functions within a user's phoneand within a service provider infrastructure for implementing aspeech-text capability, including validation of software on a user'sphone.

FIG. 18 shows a flow chart for operation of the system of FIG. 17 wherespeech-text conversion is performed at the service provider, includingfunctions within a user's phone for validation of control software onthe phone.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, it requires a certain minimumvelocity of movement of a cell phone to disable texting. This velocityshould be greater than what can be achieved jogging or walking. Speedsachievable on a bicycle are probably acceptable to cause text preventionsince a person texting on a bicycle at speed is a danger to traffic andhimself, and because it is less likely that a person will be textingwhile riding a bicycle at speed.

The velocity for setting the disable threshold speed may be a specificlevel, for instance, 10, 12, or 15 mph. For a person to travel at morethan 10 miles per hour he is either running, cycling, skateboarding, orin a motor vehicle. Texting while running at over 10 mph is probablydifficult enough to be considered unnecessary. Texting while bicyclingor skateboarding at over 10 mph may be considered dangerous.

Simply disabling texting for cell phones traveling in excess of adisable threshold is not acceptable because it would discourage peoplefrom utilizing mass transit and carpools when riding as passengers.Therefore, the present invention focuses on a system and methodologythat provides such passengers the ability to text message whiletraveling at speed. This is accomplished by the service provider'ssystem determining that an individual's cell phone traveling in excessof the disable threshold speed is within the envelope of a registeredmaster phone. While the description provided herein focuses on systemand software infrastructure provided by a mobile communications ServiceProvider (SP), it should be understood that the SP's system may operatein conjunction with systems and software belonging to governmentagencies to implement the functionalities described herein.

FIG. 1 shows the cell phones of individuals traveling on a mass transitvehicle, in this case a bus. In the cross-section diagram shown in FIG.1A, passenger phones 101 are shown in proximity with master phone 102.The top view shown in FIG. 1B again shows passenger phones 101 andmaster phone 102, now in communication with cellular tower 103. Alsoshown is position envelope 104 which is established based on the masterphone position such that passenger phones 101 are encompassed within theenvelope.

FIG. 2A shows a similar scenario to that of FIG. 1 except that insteadof a mass transit vehicle, the vehicle is a conventional passenger carwherein at least one passenger is accompanying the driver to form acarpool. Thus per FIG. 2B, passenger phones 201 are in close proximityto master phone 202 and all phones are in communication with cell tower203. In a similar manner to FIG. 1, a position envelope 204 isestablished with respect to master phone 202, that envelope encompassingpassenger phones 201.

The owner of a master phone must have a valid driver's license. Tobetter support the present invention, SPs may require that each phone ina family be assigned to a specific individual if this has not beenpreviously done, so that a child's phone, an elderly person's phone, orany phone that belongs to person without a driver's license cannot beused to spoof a master phone. Government agencies may also correlateacross cellular providers to ensure that each individual has only onecell phone assigned and active, again so as to prevent an individualfrom using one phone to spoof a master while texting on the other.Alternately, if an individual is allowed to have multiple phonesassigned to him, the SP system may prevent texting on all such phones ifany are moving in excess of a disable threshold speed while not withinthe envelope of a master phone.

A professional driver/operator of a public transportation vehicle mayalso be treated specially. The SP may maintain a database of knownprofessional drivers, or be in communication with organizations thatmaintain such databases such as mass transit companies and/or governmentagencies that monitor and/or administrate mass transit operations. An SPmay always treat the phone of a professional driver as a potentialmaster phone, and in one embodiment the professional driver may berequired to make a “request” to text while moving when he is not actingas an on-duty operator. If he is found to be texting during hours he isscheduled for duty, he may be found to be in violation of the law. Giventheir liability for an entire vehicle full of passengers, it is properthat professional drivers be given some form of special scrutiny.

FIG. 3 shows a possible validation sequence for allowing texting on amoving cell phone according to the present invention when that cellphone is within the envelope of a master phone. In step 301, the SPsystem determines the location and speed of a cell phone and mayoptionally also determine the direction of travel of the phone. Then, instep 302 the SP system compares the determined speed of the cell phonewith a minimum threshold (the disable threshold speed) in order todetermine if the phone is moving fast enough to be considered a dangerfor texting. According to step 303, if the cell phone's speed is greaterthan the disable threshold, a determination according to step 304 willbe made to decide if the cell phone is within the envelope of a masterphone. If the speed of the cell phone exceeds the disable threshold andis not within a master phone envelope, then according to step 306texting will be disabled for that cell phone. If however, the cell phoneis within a master phone envelope, then according to step 305 textingwill be allowed for that individual's cell phone. If the systemdetermines that according to step 303 the speed of the cell phone isless than the disable threshold, then according to step 307 adetermination will be made to decide if the cell phone speed has beenless than the disable threshold for a period of time—the “re-enableperiod”. Only if the cell phone speed has been less than the disablethreshold for a period of time equal to the re-enable period, will theuser of that cell phone once again be allowed to text.

When a person's phone stops moving, or drops below the disable thresholdfor a certain amount of time, it is assumed that the vehicle is nolonger moving or is no longer in stop-and-go traffic, and his phone isre-enabled for texting. This re-enable period may be chosen to besufficiently longer than the longest traffic signal cycle time, or byother means. It may be set by varying the re-enable delay and measuringthe results. For instance, if a text message is sent immediately afterthe re-enable period expires and the length of the message is such thatit could not have been composed by a typical user within the re-enableperiod, that is a clue that the re-enable period may not be long enough.The time delay for the re-enable period provides extra minutes of timeto compose a text message after completing a period of driving, ratherthan trying to compose a message while driving. To ensure that a driveris not simply caught in stop and go traffic whereby a cessation ofmotion is simply temporary, the re-enable period must be of sufficientlength. Regarding the stop and go scenario, were it not for there-enable period that prevents sending messages after stopping, somedrivers addicted to text messaging would compose their messages whilemoving and send them while stopped during the cyclical pattern of stopand go driving.

A registration sequence for a master phone according to the presentinvention is shown in FIG. 4. Here, in step 401 the user of a masterphone registers by a communication with the SP. This communication maytake a number of forms such as for example a text message, calling aregistration phone number, or an Internet link. It is important that theact of registration does not distract the driver any more thannecessary. Therefore it would be useful for a driver who frequentlyregisters to assign the registration phone number to a speed dialnumber, or to create a standard text message that can be sent with thepress of a single key, preferably to a special destination set up by theSP and reserved for this purpose that is enabled for texting even when aphone is traveling faster than the disable threshold. Also, the SP maycreate a short number sequence that when dialed automatically registersa phone as a master phone. In step 402 the SP system logs the masterphone user as the current active user of a master phone. Then, in step403 and 404, the SP system will disable texting for the master phoneuser as long as he is still registered. When he is no longer registeredaccording to step 404, he may be allowed to resume text messaging perstep 405 as long as a re-enable time period has passed.

Alternately, it is possible to install a cell phone or equivalentfunctionality in a mass transit vehicle to act as a form of permanentmaster phone. This is one solution to the problem that occurs when theoperator forgets to register as a master phone, thus leaving hispassengers without the ability to text. However, this still leaves theproblem that the operator's personal cell phone must be disabled whilemoving. Assuming that the service provider is made aware of the cellphones of all professional mass transit drivers, these phones can bedisabled when moving. Unfortunately, that prevents a professional driverfrom texting when traveling on mass transit as a passenger. Thus, thebest overall solution may be for the actual operator of a mass transitvehicle to be required to register his phone as a master phone, therebyallowing a different professional driver to text on a mass transitvehicle when off duty and riding as a passenger.

De-registration of a master phone may occur in a number of ways. Thedriver may be offered the following choices for example:

-   -   1) auto-deregistration (x minutes of slow or stopped motion,        equal to or longer than the re-enable period).    -   2) manual deregistration—stay registered until operator        deregisters.    -   3) registration for a fixed time (one shift for a professional        driver).

Note that having multiple active master phones on a vehicle could enablethe driver to de-register and text. People who drive in carpools asregistered master phone user and then park and get on public transportcan compound this problem if their phones don't de-registerautomatically. Thus, it may be preferred to have automaticde-registration after the re-enable period has transpired. Still, thefollowing sequence of events demonstrates one scenario that could ariseeven with automatic de-registration after a re-enable period:

-   -   1. The cell phone of a non-professional driver is currently        registered as a master phone;    -   2. For a period of time less than the re-enable period, the        speed of his phone has been less than the disable threshold; and    -   3. His phone is then determined to be within the envelope of a        master phone registered to a professional driver of a mass        transit vehicle.

Upon detecting this situation, the cell phone of the nonprofessionaldriver can be automatically de-registered to avoid the situation wheretwo master phones are present on the mass transit vehicle. Regardless,it may be beneficial for the SP system to determine if multiple masterphones are active on the same mass transit vehicle and take steps toremedy the situation. A general way to handle this scenario is that ifregistered master phones of a non-professional driver and a professionaldriver are within the same envelope, the phone of the non-professionaldriver is automatically de-registered and allowed to text at speed.

For several embodiments of the present invention, a mass transit drivermust register his phone in order for his passenger's phones to text. Ifhe forgets to register, his passengers will be annoyed when attemptingto text. In order to avoid unhappy passengers, a driver can also beknown to the SP system as a professional driver, and then when his phoneis in the presence of a group of people with the same position and speedas the professional driver, the professional driver can be prompted toregister. Essentially, a group of cell phone users riding as passengersmay form their own envelope and a professional driver whose phone isalso in that envelope may be prompted to register in order to enable thepassengers to text. This registration could also be done automatically,but that could disable the driver in some scenarios when he is on a busas a passenger. An example process for prompting a professional driverto register his phone as a master phone is shown in FIG. 5. In step 501,the SP system determines that a professional driver whose cell phone iscurrently not registered as a master phone is traveling within theenvelope of a group of cell phones. In step 502 the system then promptsthe professional driver to register his phone as a master phone. In theinterest of safety, this prompt should occur in a manner with minimaldistraction of the professional driver in case he should currently beoperating the vehicle. In step 503 a determination is made by theprofessional driver as to whether he is the operator of the vehicle or apassenger. If he is a passenger, his phone will be enabled for textingaccording to step 504. If however, he is the operator of the vehicle, hewould register his cell phone according to step 505 as a master phone,and would be logged at the SP system as a master phone user and theactive operator of the vehicle. Subsequently, in step 507 the SP systemwill disable texting for the professional driver. In step 508 uponderegistration of the professional driver's phone to be no longer amaster phone, he would be allowed to text according to step 509 after are-enable period of time has passed.

Trains have unique problems as described for FIG. 6. They also haverestrictions that simplify these problems. A long train 601 can travelon a railroad bed 602 that curves substantially, so the envelope 603 fora train of any substantial length is unusually shaped and difficult toassociate with a passenger's cell phone 604 based simply on following amaster phone 605. At the same time, the roadbed is known and eachincrement of a railroad bed has a very specific GPS location. For (long)trains, it may be better to determine the locations of passengers' cellphones based on roadbed coordinates and deal with the operator of thetrain by another means—for instance automatic registration of anoperator's phone when on a roadbed that causes automatic disablement oftexting for his phone. Alternately, a professional operator's phone canremind him when on a roadbed that he should register it as a masterphone, and if he is a passenger and not the active operator, he cansignal via his phone that he is a passenger and to not remind himfurther for the duration of the trip. For a professional operator tosuccessfully indicate that he is a passenger, there must be anotherphone on the same train belonging to the active operator and currentlyregistered as a master phone. For trains, the delay that a train must bebelow the minimum disabling speed before texting is re-enabled may bedifferent than for cars, trucks, and busses, and is most probably setaccording to the maximum time that a train is typically stopped at astation. A very short train (cable car, or a light rail) may be treatedlike a bus or alternately like a train.

A goal of the present invention is to be as effective as possible inpreventing drivers and operators of motor vehicles from texting while inmotion. At the same time, another goal of the present invention is toaccomplish this with an implementation strategy that can be executedquickly and using existing equipment wherever possible. While the systemas described herein may accomplish this goal with a high degree ofsuccess, there may still be individuals who attempt to circumvent thesystem. For instance, a solitary driver may find a way to carry twophones such that one can be registered as a master phone while the otheris used for texting. Such an attempt at circumvention can be detected bythe SP system for example by:

-   -   1) Determining that a driver frequently has a second phone        active in his car and it always comprises the same phone.        Working in conjunction with government authorities, the user        assigned to each phone may be contacted and validated;    -   2) Determining that a driver frequently has a second phone in        his car yet rarely uses the carpool lane. Working in conjunction        with government authorities, the user assigned to each phone may        be contacted and validated; or    -   3) Determining that a registered driver frequently has a        passenger's phone directly to his left or in front of him, but        within the same envelope.        Multiple Service Provider Scenarios

While it will often occur that all persons traveling in the same vehiclehave cell phones serviced by the same service provider such as in thecase of a family, it will of course also occur that some people ridingin a vehicle will have different service providers from others in thesame vehicle. When this occurs, the system heretofore described for thepresent invention will function properly as long as appropriatecommunications exist between multiple service providers. To clarify howsuch communications might operate, consider the multiple serviceprovider scenario of FIG. 7 where three individuals have cell phones701, 703, and 705, each serviced by a different service provider. Phone701 is serviced by provider 702, phone 703 by provider 704, and phone705 by provider 706. In this example, the user of phone 701 hasregistered that phone is a master phone with provider 702. Each serviceprovider keeps track of any or all of position, velocity, and directionparameters for cell phones it services. When the velocity of a phonesuch as 703 or 705 exceeds the disable threshold, the associated serviceprovider must determine if that phone is within the envelope 707 of amaster phone in order to make the decision to enable or disable textingfor that phone. Thus, envelope information for master phones must bemade available to all participating service providers. This informationmay be transferred between service providers directly via communicationlinks such as link 708. Alternately, this information may be transferredfrom the originating service provider to a third party 710 or centraldatabase repository of some kind where the information is then madeavailable to any participating service provider by accessing the centraldatabase via communication links such as links 709. The central databasecould be maintained by a third party co-op organization operated byparticipating service providers, or by an independent third party. Anindependent third party could be operated as an independent organizationor alternately under the auspices of a government agency—for instancethe NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).

When a first service provider registers a cell phone as a master phoneand subsequently tracks and records information parameters concerningthe master phone such as position, velocity, and direction of travel, itis also useful to record a specific point in time for each parametermeasurement with a time marker or time stamp. When this time marker issupplied along with the corresponding master phone envelope informationto a second service provider, the time markers allow the second serviceprovider to synchronize or correlate the behavior of a particular cellphone with that of master phones in its vicinity—making meaningfulparameter comparisons for similar points in time. Due to systeminaccuracies and delays, as well as the interval spacing for takingparameter measurements for a particular phone, there may not exist timemarkers that match exactly. However, as long as the time markers matchwithin an acceptable threshold of equality, the validity of the overallmethodology is maintained.

An information flow for passing parameter data and time markers betweenservice providers to enable the required analysis is demonstratedgraphically in FIG. 8. Here, a first service provider records masterphone envelope information 801 at different points in time that mayinclude for instance position information such as that recorded at timemarker 1 (802), time marker 2 (803), and time marker (n) 804. Thisinformation is then made available to a second service provider by wayof a third-party 805 or directly via communications link 806. Meanwhile,the second service provider has been maintaining information parameters807 concerning a cell phone it services, and when that cell phone hasbeen observed to travel at a velocity greater than a disable threshold,various parameters for that phone are tracked by the second serviceprovider along with time marker information for each measured parameter.The second service provider might maintain for instance positioninformation at time marker (a) 808, time marker (b) 809, and time market(z) 810. Subsequently, the second service provider might determined thatthe time value of time marker (b) is within a threshold of equivalenceto the time value of time marker 1 for the information 801 supplied bythe first service provider for a master phone. With this timingsynchronization having been made, the second service provider can thendetermine if the position of the cell phone is within the positionenvelope of the master phone at this specific point in time. Otherparameter comparisons such as the velocity and direction of travel ofthe phone in question compared with that of various master phones may bemade as appropriate, with an overall determination eventually made bythe second service provider to enable or disable texting for theparticular cell phone if it is determined to not be in the envelope of amaster phone. Because the position accuracy of GPS and other cell phoneposition location means varies with location and other conditions, itmay be important to bring other parameters into the determination—inparticular velocity. If the position envelope of a master phone in aparticular circumstance is wide enough to encompass drivers of adjacentvehicles, the probability that an adjacent vehicle with have a velocitythat precisely tracks that of the master phone is unlikely. Thus,including instantaneous velocity in the determination of the masterphone envelope is very useful, and marking such parameter measurementswith time-stamps is useful to align the parameters in time.

Cell phone base stations typically contain GPS receivers that accesstime information supplied by the atomic clocks in the GPS satellites.This precise time information enables time stamping or marking of eventsobserved at the base station with the degree of accuracy required toaccurately perform parameter comparisons for multiple cell phones.

According to Wikipedia.org:

“Since the advent of the Global Positioning System, highly precise, yetaffordable timing is available from many commercial GPS receivers. Itsinitial system design expected general timing precision better than 340nanoseconds using low-grade “coarse mode” and 200 ns in precision mode.A GPS receiver functions by precisely measuring the transit time ofsignals received from several satellites. These distances combinedgeometrically with precise orbital information identify the location ofthe receiver. Precise timing is fundamental to an accurate GPS location.The time from an atomic clock on board each satellite is encoded intothe radio signal; the receiver determines how much later it received thesignal than it was sent. To do this, a local clock is corrected to theGPS atomic clock time by solving for three dimensions and time based onfour or more satellite signals. Improvements in algorithms lead manymodern low cost GPS receivers to achieve better than 10 meter accuracy,which implies a timing accuracy of about 30 ns. GPS-based laboratorytime references routinely achieve 10 ns precision.”

When comparing parameter data, or time-stamps associated with parameterdata, different values may often be close enough to equal to beconsidered equal from a practical standpoint without actually beingequally when viewed with a higher degree of precision. Thus for thepresent invention, it may often be required that two parameters be equalwithin a “threshold of equality”. This essentially means that there is atolerance on judging the equality of parameter values and that thistolerance may vary depending on the needs of a particularimplementation.

The method for the FIG. 8 embodiment to determine texting enablementwhen multiple service providers are involved is shown in FIG. 9. Here,the second service provider observes at regular intervals the velocitiesof it's customer's cell phones and occasionally determines that aparticular phone is traveling 901 at a velocity in excess of a disablethreshold. The second service provider then records 902 (or continues torecord) time-stamped parameters (parameters with time-markers that markthe instance in time of the parameter measurement) such as any or all ofposition, velocity, and direction of travel.

The second service provider then compares 903 parameters for the cellphone with parameters for master phones in the vicinity—some parametersacquired externally such as from the first service provider or a general3^(rd) party database, and some registered and tracked by the secondservice provider itself—according to time-stamps that are equal within athreshold of equality. By lining up these parameter measurements intime, a valid comparison and determination can be made to determine 904if the phone in question is within the envelope of a master phone. If itis, then the second service provider will allow 905 text messages. Ifthe second service provider determines that the cell phone is not withina master phone envelope, then text messaging will be disabled 906 forthat phone until it's velocity has dropped below the disable thresholdfor a pre-determined period of time.

For multiple service provider scenarios such as those of FIGS. 8 and 9,each service provider will typically watch multiple registered masterphones and thus be considered at times the “first service provider”. Atthe same time, each service provider will also watch multiple cellphones that are not so registered, thereby functioning at times as the“second service provider” relative to those un-registered phones. Whenboth a master phone and a non-master phone are serviced by the sameprovider, that service provider may function as both the first andsecond service providers.

Tracking and Warning of Probable Texting while Driving

A functionality for tracking texting while driving according to thepresent invention provides a useful interim solution where driversexhibiting a high probability of texting while driving are warned ofthis condition. This embodiment for tracking and warning serves both asa deterrent and also prepares cell phone users for a possible ban wheretexting is actually disabled according to other embodiments of thepresent invention. As with the apparatus and methods described hereinfor disabling texting, the embodiment for tracking and warning may beimplemented without requiring changes to currently deployed user phones,existing cellular hardware infrastructure, or existing vehicles.

FIG. 10 shows multiple cell phones traveling within the same vehiclewhere an envelope is established in order to track and warn drivers ofprobable texting while driving. In FIG. 10A, passenger phones 1001 and1002 are riding within the same envelope as is driver's phone 1003. Theservice provider for each of these phones determines the position,velocity and other parameters for the phone as well as whether the phoneis being used for texting. However, since this tracking mechanism ispassive, there is no master phone registration as described previouslyfor embodiments focused on disabling texting. If all of the phones inthe vehicle are serviced by the same service provider, then that serviceprovider can determine that these phones are within the same envelope1005, and also which are texting and not texting. If some phones areserviced by a first service provider by way of cell tower 1004 andothers are serviced by different service providers, then coordinationbetween service providers is required for this tracking and warningembodiment in a manner similar to that described for FIGS. 7, 8, and 9.

FIG. 11 shows a table describing some possible and exemplary statusconditions for multiple cell phones traveling within the same vehicleenvelope, and conditions under which some cell phone users would bewarned of probable texting while driving. Columns 1101 and 1102represent two cell phone users traveling in the same envelope where bothare licensed drivers. For this embodiment, a database containing recordsof driver licensing is queried to determine for each cell phone userwhether or not they are a licensed driver. Unlicensed driverscorresponding to columns 1103 and 1104 are assumed it to be not driving.They are allowed to text under any and all conditions, and are thereforenot warned of a possible texting while driving condition. Licenseddrivers are scrutinized and may be warned of probable texting whiledriving under certain conditions. According to action column 1105 inFIG. 11, if only one licensed driver has an active phone and that phoneis used for texting while moving, that driver will be warned of thepossible violation. If two licensed drivers within the envelope havetheir phones active and one is texting, it is indeterminate as towhether the individual texting is driving, and no warning is given. Itis assumed for this scenario that because texting while driving isagainst the law that the passenger in the vehicle is far more likely tobe the person texting. If two or more cell phones within the envelopeare all active and all are being used for texting, it is assumed thatthe driver of the vehicle is texting and a warning is issued. For thisscenario, it is not required that all phones be texting simultaneously,only that all have texted during the transit time for the vehicle. Tominimize the possibility of distracting a driver, warnings are typicallygiven after the fact through either email or regular mail or a message(text or automated voice) to their phone that is sent at a time when itis determined that the person is no longer in a moving vehicle. Asmentioned earlier, if two or more cell phone users within the sameenvelope are serviced by more than one service provider, thencoordination between service providers is required for this tracking andwarning embodiment in a manner similar to that described for FIGS. 7, 8,and 9.

Speech-to-Text and Text-to-Speech

The presence of a conventional Speech-to-Text and Text-to-Speechfunction on a cell phone doesn't necessarily prevent the user fromviewing texts on the phone's display or from creating a text manually. Asolution that seeks to disable conventional texting for drivers musttake this into account. To be comprehensive, for phones identified tobelong to a current driver of a vehicle, a solution must require thatall interaction between a user and their phone is performed viabi-directional voice communication, and that a user is never allowed toenter a text manually or view a text optically while driving. Accordingto the invention, a phone user who wishes to use speech-text capabilitywhile driving would typically indicate this preference in advance. Theycould also indicate this desire once determined to be driving,preferably by a single button operation such as for instance a speeddial. As part of inventions described herein, a service provider maydetermine that a particular phone is likely to be in use by a driver ofa vehicle. This can be performed by methods described herein forenvelope determination and tracking, and can also be performed by othermethods known in the art. That a particular phone is used by a driverand not a passenger in a moving vehicle can be accomplished by thevoluntary registration method described herein, or by other methodsknown in the art. Once a particular phone has been determined to be inuse by a driver of a vehicle, conventional texting for that phone isdisabled by the service provider, and if desired by the individual andallowed by local laws, a speech-text capability may be activated andutilized.

If it is paramount to ensure that users can never circumvent speech-textcapability while driving, the best solution is to have all speech-textfunctions performed at the service provider, requiring users tocommunicate solely by voice when dealing with text capability whiledriving. A representative and non-limiting infrastructure at a serviceprovider 1202 for performing such functions is shown in FIG. 12. Ingeneral, a cellular service provider infrastructure may consist of anyor all of central offices, base stations, cell towers, various backhaulsand communication links, and the Internet, to name a few components. Auser's phone 1201 interfaces with a conventional cellular serviceprovider infrastructure 1202 via a wireless communication interface 1203which in turn communicates with a software platform 1204 at the serviceprovider. Functions shown in FIG. 12 as being performed at a cellularservice provider may be performed at any location in the servicerprovider's infrastructure. In the scenario of FIG. 12, a speech-to-textcapability 1206 is performed at the service provider under control ofvoice command interpretation and process control functionality 1205.Since users accustomed to dealing with textual representations of theirmessages may wish to obtain text copies of voice conversions once theirdriving is complete, a message caching capability 1207 may also beincluded.

FIG. 13 describes a process whereby speech-text conversion is performedat a service provider and all control of the process from a user'sperspective is performed by way of bidirectional voice communicationwith the service provider. This includes menus provided by the serviceprovider and commands issued by a user while determined to be driving.In step 1301, a service provider determines that a phone belongs to thedriver of a vehicle. In step 1302, the service provider determines thatthe driver's phone is traveling in excess of a disable threshold, and ifso, conventional text messaging for the phone is disabled. As describedearlier herein, different criteria may be utilized to determine whenconventional texting may be re-enabled, including that the phone hasbeen traveling at a speed or velocity less than the disable thresholdfor a predetermined amount of time. In step 1303 it is determined that auser of the phone, already determined to be a driver, has chosenspeech-text conversion when determined to be driving. In someembodiments this step may be optional. In step 1304 incoming textsintended for the driver's phone are converted at the service providerand sent as voice messages to the driver's phone. Such messages having avoice format yet conveying text information are hereinafter described as“text-voice” messages. Text-voice messages may be transferred by anymeans that include voice communication, including but not limited to anyof: conventional phone calls; voice Instant Messages; or voicemail. Instep 1305 text-voice messages from the driver's phone are converted toconventional text format and forwarded to one or more recipients. Asmentioned with regard to FIG. 12, incoming and outgoing texts may becached at the service provider in their conventional text messageformat, and forwarded to the driver's phone when it is determined by theservice provider that the phone is no longer in a moving vehicle andconventional texting is restored. Such caching and forwardingfunctionality may be optional according to the stated preference of anindividual phone user. Also, when a message is thus saved and laterforwarded to a user's phone, it can be marked to the effect of havingbeen “already sent” or “already received” so the user can keep track ofthose messages without confusion.

FIG. 14 shows a more detailed process description of how a driver wouldcommunicate via voice with a service provider in order to send andreceive text-voice messages while determined to be driving. In step 1401a driver places a conventional voice call to a service provider toinitiate the process of sending or receiving text voice messages. In oneembodiment this can be a speed dial number which a user can call with asingle button push, with a call to this special number being allowedwhile driving. In step 1402 the service provider answers the call with avoice command interpretation functionality—typically including a menucapability with voice recognition—and proceeds to interact with thedriver according to a process control function capability at the serviceprovider. As part of this step a user may listen to messages convertedfrom text, or dictate 1403 a message that they wish to be converted to atext. In step 1404 the system at the service provider converts a messagedictated by the driver to a conventional text message and forwards toone or more recipients. In step 1405 the outgoing text message may besaved at the service provider for later retrieval by the driver aftertheir driving is completed.

Other embodiments described herein include functions for voice commandinterpretation and process control of speech-text capability that areresident on a user's phone. In some embodiments the actual speech-textconversion may be performed on the user's phone while in otherembodiments this conversion may be performed at the service provider.When the conversion is performed on the user's phone, text will betransferred back and forth between the service provider and the user'sphone. When the conversion is performed at the service provider, textmessage information will be transferred back and forth in the form of atext-voice message. A “text-voice message” is a voice message thatcontains information originating from, or intended for, a conventionaltext message. Text-voice messages may be transferred by a conventionalphone call, or alternative communication formats between a user's phoneand a service provider including a voice Instant Massage (voice IM). Atext-voice message may also include header information including source,destination, or other pertinent information. For the various embodimentsdescribed herein, a user may optionally choose to have incoming textsqueued so that they can be listened to in sequence, thereby eliminatingthe need to scroll through a list on their phone whereby they would taketheir eyes off the road.

If software or firmware is present on a user's phone to control and/orconvert as part of a speech-text capability and that software ismodified or hacked, it may be possible for a user to circumvent thespeech-text functionality and either enter or view texts in aconventional manner. As such, and according to the present invention,when software or firmware functionality exists on a user's phone toallow speech-text capability while driving, a validation function isalso included to ensure that the software or firmware has not beenmodified, hacked, or circumvented in any way.

When any of voice command interpretation, process control forspeech-text capability, and the actual speech-text conversion, areresident on a user's phone, the software applications that perform thesefunctions should be initially certified and then validated from time totime as described herein. When such an application is added to a smartphone, other communication can be performed between the user's phone andthe service provider including sending codes to either enable or disablespeech-text related functions.

FIG. 15 shows a scenario where speech-text conversion is performed on auser's phone. FIG. 15 a shows a driver's phone 1501 as well aspassenger's phones 1502 and 1503. As described elsewhere herein and asknown in the art for alternative solutions, a service provider maydetermine that phone 1501 should be disabled for conventional textingdue to its use by a driver, while conventional texting is allowed forphones 1502 and 1503 belonging to passengers. In FIG. 15 b,functionalities 1504 within phone 1501 are shown including operatingsystem 1505 which communicates with and controls functions for voicecommand interpretation and process control 1507 as well astext-to-speech and speech-to-text conversion 1508, both of which areviewed as subsystem 1506 which is protected against tampering by avalidation engine function 1509. Validation engine 1509 may be aseparate hardware engine, or alternately a software module whichexecutes on a processor within the phone. If executed on a processorthis may be the same processor that executes the phone's operatingsystem 1505 or may be a separate processor. Validation engine 1509 mayaccess software or firmware for functions 1507 and 1508 via O/S 1505, oralternately may access functions 1507 and 1508 directly by means ofaccess path 1510 which may either be a hardware path with separate busstructures or a software path using bus structures shared with otherfunctions. Regardless of the specific implementation, the validationengine must be able to ensure from time to time that no tampering hasoccurred with either the voice command interpretation and processcontrol function 1507 or speech-text conversion functionality 1508. Thisvalidation may include various encryption techniques known in the art orother validation techniques known in the art. From time to timevalidation functionality in phone 1501 may communicate through wirelesscommunication interface 1511 with cellular service provider 1512 toensure that all speech-text related functionality in phone 1501 isvalid. The process of validation may also utilize communication with agovernment controlled server 1513 which may supply validation-relatedsoftware updates or encryption-related updates. Alternately, cellularservice provider 1512 may supply such updates. In the embodiment of FIG.15, since speech-text conversion is performed on the user's phone, textmessage information being communicated between the user's phone and theservice provider would be in a voice format and therefore is considereda text-voice message. Although not shown in FIG. 15, text messages maybe cached at the service provider or on the user's phone for laterviewing after driving is completed. If cached on the user's phone, thesewould be encrypted or otherwise hidden from a user while driving so thatconventional text viewing is unavailable while driving.

FIG. 16 shows a process for operation of the functions of FIG. 15. Instep 1601 it is determined that a phone belongs to the driver of thevehicle. In step 1602 it is determined that the driver's phone istraveling in excess of a disable threshold, and if so conventional textmessaging is disabled for the phone. In step 1603 it is optionallydetermined that a user of the phone has chosen speech-text conversionwhen determined to be driving. In step 1604 the speech text controlfunction as well as the conversion software/firmware on the phone arevalidated to ensure that no tampering or alteration has been performedthat might allow circumvention of the speech-text functionality. In step1605 incoming texts are converted to speech and the driver is allowed tolisten to voice information representing a text. Since informationtransferred between a service provider and a user's phone in thescenario of FIGS. 15 and 16 is still in text format, such informationmay be encrypted in order to better ensure the integrity of thespeech-text functionality. In step 1606 a user dictates informationintended for texting, conversion functionality 1508 creates textinformation from the dictated voice information, while at the same timeany textual representations of incoming or outgoing texts are hiddenfrom the user of the phone (the driver) until they are determined to beno longer driving.

An alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 17 where voice interpretationcommand and control is performed on a driver's phone, but actualspeech-text conversion is performed at the service provider. Here, textmessage information being communicated between the user's phone and theservice provider are in a text message format which in one exemplaryembodiment may be encrypted. The embodiments of FIGS. 15 and 17 mayprovide some additional element of convenience to a user. However, dueto the presence of speech-text related software on the user's phone,additional provisions are required to ensure that users cannotcircumvent the intended capabilities and somehow perform conventionaltext entry or viewing while driving. In FIG. 17 a user's phone 1701communicates with cellular service provider 1702. Speech-text conversion1703 is performed at the service provider along with optional messagecaching 1705 in case a user wishes to view text-voice messages asconventional texts when no longer driving. Conversion 1703 at theservice provider is controlled by the service provider software platform1704 which communicates through a wireless communication interface 1706with wireless communication interface 1707 on a user's phone 1701. Thephone's O/S 1708 then communicates with a voice command interpretationand process control functionality 1710 which allows the user to operatea speech-text capability while driving. Since function 1710, if alteredor tampered with, might allow conventional texting while driving, it isshown closely coupled in module 1709 with validation engine 1711 whichas described earlier may perform validation of various software andfirmware modules either directly or via the phone O/S 1708.

FIG. 18 describes a process for operation of the functionality describedin FIG. 17. In step 1801 it is determined that a phone belongs to thedriver of a vehicle. In step 1802 it is determined that the driver'sphone is traveling in excess of a disable threshold, and if soconventional text messaging for the driver's phone is disabled. In step1803 it is optionally determined that a user of the phone has previouslychosen speech-text conversion while driving. In step 1804 thespeech-text control function on the phone is validated to ensure it hasnot been hacked or tampered with in any way. In step 1805 incoming textsare converted to speech at the service provider and sent as text-voicemessages to the driver's phone. And in step 1806 text-voice messagesfrom the driver's phone are converted at the service provider toconventional text messages and are forwarded to one or more recipients.

The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of the presentinvention has been provided for the purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevantarts. For example, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art thatthe embodiments described and claimed herein, while directed topreventing texting while driving, may also be used with minormodification to also prevent voice communication while driving. Suchminor modifications would include, for instance, a shortening of there-enable period.

Also for example, steps preformed in the embodiments of the inventiondisclosed can be performed in alternate orders, certain steps can beomitted, and additional steps can be added. The embodiments were chosenand described in order to best explain the principles of the inventionand its practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in theart to understand the invention for various embodiments and with variousmodifications that are suited to the particular use contemplated. It isintended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims andtheir equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed by a cellular service providerfor safe texting while driving utilizing text-voice conversion,comprising: determining that a user of a phone is a current driver of avehicle; wherein the service provider determines that a user of a phoneis a current driver of a vehicle in response to the user registering thephone as a master phone, wherein said registering is initiated by thecurrent driver; determining that the user's phone is travelling at avelocity in excess of a disable threshold; disabling conventional textmessaging for the phone; converting an incoming text message from athird party to voice and sending as a voice message to the phone; andprocessing a voice message from the user that the user intends to besent as an outgoing text message according to a method comprising:receiving the voice message from the phone; converting the voice messagefrom the phone to a text message; and forwarding the outgoing textmessage to a third party.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein a voicemessage transmitted from the phone to the service provider istransferred as a conventional phone call.
 3. The method of claim 2wherein the conventional phone call is answered at the service providerwith a voice menu prompting the phone user to submit header and messageinformation by voice.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein a voice messagetransmitted from the phone to the service provider is transferred as avoice Instant Message.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein incoming textsare saved at the service provider for later review by the user, and areforwarded to the phone when conventional texting is no longer disabledfor the phone.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein outgoing texts are savedat the service provider for later review by the user, and are forwardedto the phone when conventional texting is no longer disabled for thephone.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the user of the phone isdetermined to be a driver of the vehicle by the user having registeredthe phone as a master phone.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein beforeenabling text-voice message capability for a phone whose user has beendetermined to be driving, it is determined that a state, province, orcountry where the phone is located allows voice communication whiledriving.
 9. A cell phone including an application for safe texting,comprising: one or more processors; a software or firmware operatingsystem; memory; a software or firmware application for safe textingcomprising instructions residing on a non-transitory storage mediumwithin the phone; wherein when the application for safe texting isactivated conventional texting is disabled, and wherein text messagesare both generated and received by a driver of a vehicle solely usingvoice input and output of the phone while travelling at a velocity inexcess of a disable threshold; a validation engine to validate theapplication for safe texting; and wherein the application for safetexting is enabled when: it has been determined that the cell phone isbeing used by the driver of a vehicle; wherein the service providerdetermines that a user of a phone is a current driver of a vehicle inresponse to the user registering the phone as a master phone, whereinsaid registering is initiated by the current driver; it has beendetermined that the vehicle is travelling at the velocity in excess ofthe disable threshold; and it has been determined by the validationengine that the application for safe texting has not been modified orcircumvented.
 10. The cell phone of claim 9 wherein disablingconventional text messaging for the phone includes disabling viewing oftexts while conventional text messaging is disabled.
 11. The cell phoneof claim 9 wherein the application for safe texting includes voice-textconversion, and when the application for safe texting is enabled, textmessage information transferred between the phone and a service provideris text information.
 12. The cell phone of claim 11 wherein textmessages sent and received while conventional texting is disabled arehidden from viewing by a user until conventional texting has beenre-enabled.
 13. The cell phone of claim 9 wherein the application forsafe texting does not include voice-text conversion, and when theapplication for safe texting is enabled, text message informationtransferred between the phone and a service provider is voiceinformation with voice-text conversion being performed at the serviceprovider.
 14. The cell phone of claim 13 wherein text messages sent andreceived while conventional texting is disabled are forwarded from theservice provider to the cell phone when conventional texting has beenre-enabled.
 15. A cellular service provider system for safe textingwhile driving utilizing voice-text conversion, comprising: aconventional service provider hardware and software infrastructure; asoftware application for safe texting operating within the hardware andsoftware infrastructure wherein the software application comprisesinstructions residing in a non-transient storage medium; and wherein theservice provider determines that a user of a phone is a current driverof a vehicle in response to the user registering the phone as a masterphone, wherein said registering is initiated by the current driver;wherein the service provider determines that the user's phone istravelling at a velocity in excess of a disable threshold; wherein theservice provider prevents conventional text messages from beingtransmitted to or from the phone; wherein the service provider convertsincoming text messages to voice messages and sends the voice messages tothe phone; and wherein the service provider processes voice messagesfrom the user that the user intends to be sent as outgoing text messagesaccording to a method comprising: receiving the voice messages from thephone; converting the voice messages from the phone to text messages;and forwarding the text messages to one or more third parties.
 16. Themethod of claim 15 wherein a voice message thus transmitted from thephone to the service provider is transferred by way of a conventionalphone call.
 17. The method of claim 15 wherein a voice message thustransmitted from the service provider to the phone is transferred by wayof a conventional phone call.
 18. The method of claim 15 whereinincoming texts are saved at the service provider for later review by theuser, and are forwarded to the phone when conventional texting is nolonger disabled for the phone.
 19. The method of claim 15 whereinoutgoing texts are saved at the service provider for later review by theuser, and are forwarded to the phone when conventional texting is nolonger disabled for the phone.
 20. The method of claim 15 wherein beforeenabling voice-text message capability for a phone whose user has beendetermined to be driving, it is determined that a state, province, orcountry where the phone is located allows voice communication whiledriving.